Baffle for fireproof shutters.



J. G. WILSON.

BAFFLE FOB PIBEPBOOF SHUTTEBS. APPLICATION FILED IAILQ. 1909.

957,923, PatentedMay 17,1910.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1- h-1 uc n-vloz JAMES G. M/IL 301V J. G. WILSON. BAFPLEFDR FIREPROOF SHUTTERSR APPLICATION FILED JAN- 9. 1909.

Patented May 17, 1910.

3 EHEBTS-BHEET 2.

STATS ZIBAFFLE FOR FIREPRU OF SHUTTERS.

Specification tr Letters Patent.

atented May it, tar.

Application filed January aieoa'. Serial no. armor To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, Janine Gr. WILSON, a

subject of the Kint Great Britain, resid-' m ing at Larchmont,estchester county, State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Baflies for Fireproof Shutters, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to sliding or rolling shutters made of fire proofmaterial and is particularly applicable to the well known type of suchshutter constituted of interlocking metallic slats.

The object of my invention is to provide a means by which, when theshutter is closed, any transit of hot air, gas, noxious vapors andflamesis prevented from taking place across or around the interior end or edgeof the shutter. a

' By the interior edge or end I mean, in the case of arolling shutter,that edge or end which is adjacent to the barrel or shaft u on which theshutter rolls. In the case 0 a straight sliding shutter, I mean thatedge or end which is most remote from the opening to be protected whenthe shutter is fully open. straight sliding shutters, my invention maybe applied to each and every edge of the shutter when said. shutter isclosing its openin My lnvention is more particularly intended forshutters of the rollin type as above mentioned and may be use in suchtype of shutters, not only to prevent the passage of gases, vapors,flames, '-etc., as

aforesaid, from one side of the shutter to the other, but also tocompletely cut ofl such gases, vapors, flames, etc., from access to theshutter coil and the casing surrounding the same, thereby in many, ifnot in most instances avoiding injury to the mechanism pmper of theshutter so that the same will, except in the case of the most severeconfla ations, be'uninjnred by fire and capable offeing re-used with butslight repair and adjustment.

My improved device may, as will be seen,

be arranged to operate automatically either by means fusible at a vantemperature, or mechanicall If pre erred, I may arrange one form 0 myimproved device to operate by hand.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 lllustrates in perspective apreferred embodimentof my invention as applied to a rolling slat But inthe case of such.

shutter, the left hand side of the shutter being cut awa and shown insection. Fig.

2 is a vertica section along the same lineas the sectioned perspectiveof Fig. 1, the up er ortion only of the shutter being consi ere Fig. 3il my invention in which the device is applied to the shutter instead ofto the coil casing as in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is like Fig. 3 but showsa diflerent form of my invention as aplied to the shutter pr r. Fig.- 5is an en arged detail of an and o my invention as shown in Fig. 4:, Fig.6 is an elevation, part broken away, showm 'my invention as applied to astraight sli 1n 7 is a section alon -the line -7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is adeta showin one mode of actuating my device; and ig. 9 is a detailshowing a modified mode of operating my invention.

Referring to the drawin s, it is a rolling metallic shutter compose ofinterlocked ustrates a modification of shutter; Fig.

slats a, and arranged to protect a door open- I to the shutter ingFoffire proof material is afixed to the 7 wall G above the shutter openingand surrounds the shutter coil as shown, the wall G itself closing thecasing on its open side.

The'shutter bei-n closed there is, in the constructions usua y employed,a space necessarily existing between the lower ed e of the casing Fand'the shutter on one si e and the lower edge of the lintel H. and theshutter on the other side. In the case of severe fire, drafts are apt tobe established by which the flame is sucked up through these spaces intothe casing on the one side or the other accordi clear around the shuttercoil and issue therefrom on the other side thus becoming a means ofcommunicating'fire from one side of the protective shutter to the other;even should the fire not he so severexas to pass to the side upon whichthe fire starts, w -'ch flame may pass flames from one side of theshutter to the other, there will still be danger of smoke and noxiousfumes being so transferred and becoming a source of damage throu htaiuting of the goods or the room w 'ch the shutter is designed toprotect. The shutter coil 0, whether a simple tubular shaft, a tube orequivalent series of barrels connected by springs to a central shaft, ormade in some other preferred fashion is also liable to beseverelydamaged and rendered worthless for any future purposes if flame or hotair gains access to the casing.

My invention provides against any and all of the above rlsks.

It consists of two iron slats I-and I of L shaped section and extendingthe Whole width of the shutter, the one slat being hinged to an angleiron e fixed to the building structure in any usual way and to which thelower ed e of casin F is also attached and the ot er being slmilarlyhinged to the bottom of the lintel on the other side of the shutter; atthe end of each of these angled slats is an extension. or lever arm J inthe plane of the wider element of the L and perpendicular to the line ofhinges, said arm terminating in an enlarged portion J. Originally theseangled slats are in the position shown in Fig. 2, the arms J being drawnu to the lintel and casing respectively and oined to eyes K byfusible-links L, these links being made to melt at a predeterminedtemperature. Upon the melting of the links and by reason of theexcesswei ht of the wider element 6 of the baflle p ates and the weightsJ at the ends of the levers, the bafiie plates will turn upon theirhinges so as to throw up the narrower element 0 of said bafiie platesagainst the shutter slat on each side, thereby completely closing thespaces between the lower edge of the casing and the shutter on one sideand the lintel and the shutter on the other side and blocking oif fromthe casing F with its interior mechanism all access of smoke, hot air,vaporsor flames.

, To reset the baflie plates requires merely that the weighted arms J beraised into the position of Fig. 2, and new fusible links L inserted toretain said arms in the position shown. Ordinarily the baflie plates areset and in no way interfere with the normal position of the shutter,becoming operative, and dropping into closed position only when thetemperature rises to whatever limit may have been determined upon asdangerous.

Fig. 3 shows a modification of my invention in which the baflie platesare attached to the shutter proper instead of to the easing and linteladjacent to the shutter. These plates d, d, in the modification shownare of fireproof material such as sheet iron and may be resilient. Theplates are preferably rectangular in form, but may be angular and theyextend clear across the width of the shutter, and are riveted orotherwise suitably attached to the two sides of shutter slats as shownin the figure. When the shutter is coiled these flaps are forced down oneach side against the slats by the weight of the superimposed shutterlayers, or fit as to the inner flap in a recess M provided in theroller, as the shutter rolls upon the coil and do not add to thediameter of said coil. When the shutter'is lowered, these plates arefreed as the slat which carries them approaches the o ening in thecasing and are guided by en lugs k fixed to the baffle plates andcooperating with lugs k fixed to the casing, the one over thereinforcing angle iron 6 of the casing and the other against the wall at7', thereby forming a complete closure to the interior of the cas- -ingon either side of the shutter (see Fig.

5 'for details of the guiding lugs k and 70 Fig. 4 shows bafile platesattached to the shutter as in Fig. 3 but hinged instead of riveted; theyare preferably of heavy stifl' material, whereas the plates of Fig. 3are preferably relatively thin and resilient.

In thefirst embodiment of my invention as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, itis obvious that I may, if I prefer, substitute for the fusible link acatch 70,, as shown in detail in Fig. 9. In such case it will benecessary to release the bafile plates by hand in case of fire or theymay beso released each night, for example, at the close of the daysbusiness.

In the various modifications shown I have provided baflie tection oneach side of the shutter. In many cases, however, the risk of fireattaches only to one side of the shutter as, for example, where anengine room is to be shut off from a warehouse or mill room in whichthere is neither inflammable material nor means capable of easilystarting a fire. In such case, it may be preferred to omit the devicefrom that side of the shutter which is considered reasonably safe, andit is obvious that such omission does not lie outside of the limits ofmy invention nor dispense with the advantages which I have set forth.

Figs. 6 and 7 show two of the preceding modifications of my invention asapplied to a straight slidingshutter' at the top the baflie plate isattached to the casing or wall and at the bottom to the shutter proper.

Instead of using avity or guiding means to bring the baflie p ates intoposition, other means may, obviously, be employed. Thus in Fig. 8 aspring S throws the bafiie plate k into operative relation so soon asthe fusible link L is opened by the heat.

The casing F of Figs. 1 and 2 may, for the purposes of my invention, beequivalented by the groove space F in which the shutter may move, as inFig. 7, or into which the shutter may retire upon opening. For thepurposes of my invention also, a door and a shutter may be considered asthe same structures and I wish the terms so to be understood.

lates and, therefore, pro.

otaeas I do not desire to limit myself to the specific forms of a deviceas shown in the drawings, since it is clear that many other arrangementsmay be utilized without departing from the spirit of the invention, andI therefore claim:

1. In a fire resistant shutter adapted to move into a casing on opening,a fire resistant slat movably attached to supporting means independentof said casing and immediately adjacent to the entrance of said casing,said slat being adapted to substantially close the juncture of saidshutter with said casing when said shutter is closed, substantially asand for the purpose described.

2. In a rolling metallic shutter adapted to move into a casing onopening, a fire resistant slat hingeably attached to supporting meansindependent of both shutter and casing and immediately adjacent to theentrance of said casing said slat being adapted to substantially closethe juncture of said shutter with said casing when said shutter 'isclosed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In combination in a rolling metallic shutter, the shutter coil, afire reslstant'casing inclosing said shutter coil and provided with anentrance through which the shutter is adapted to pass, supporting meansto which said casing is fixed, and a fire resistant slat hingeablyattached to said supporting means immediately adjacent to the entranceof said casing and adapted to substantially close the juncture of saidshutter with said casing when said shutter is closed, substantially asand for the purpose described.

4. In combination in a rollin metallic shutter, the shutter coil, a fireresistant cas ing inclosing said shutter coil and rovided with anentrance slot through w ich the shutter is adapted to pass when 0erated,

casing sup orting means to which the sai is xed, a fire resistant slathingeably attached to said supporting means immediately adjacent to theentrance of said casing, a weight cooperating with said slat and adaptedto hold said slat in closed relation to the shutter, and means fusibleat a predetermined temperature adapted to retain said slat in normallyopen position, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In combination in a rolling metallic shutter, the shutter coil, afire resistant casing inclosing said shutter coil and provided with anentrance slot through which the shutter is adapted to pass whenoperated,

supporting means to which said casing is fixed, and a fire resistantslat on each side of the shutter hingeably attached to said supportingmeans immediately adjacent to the entrance of said casing, said slatsbeing adapted to substantially close the juncture of said shutter withsaid casing on each of said shutter sides when said shutter is closed,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAS. G. WILSON.

Witnesses:

ELMER SHIRLYOUNG, JOHN A; KEHLENBEGK.

